Observations on politics, news, culture and humor

Out of the frying pan, into the fire

With pension costs ballooning and taxpayers lashing out, many workers in states with deeply underfunded plans fear their benefits will be cut. Those being asked to put more into their pension funds complain they feel caught up in Ponzi schemes. Some wish they had been part of Social Security after all.

“Had I known back then, I would not have stayed in Illinois,” said John Gebhardt, a university employee in that state, which keeps teachers and university personnel out of Social Security. He has even offered to pay both his own and his employer’s payroll tax to join Social Security, but was told no.

Is trading one Ponzi scheme for another really that great? It would be much smarter to help get rid of all of the Ponzi schemes. Or to just get out of this country.